More Self Promotion

Among the covered topics: the future of the Orioles, the future of the Braves, the future of PED scandals, Eric Wedge’s lack of a future, and whether, if forced to choose, I’d rather watch a national FOX broadcast or a national ESPN broadcast. Unfortunately, suicide was not an option, so I had to pick one.

Comments

I wonder if Steve Phillips will venure into Shysterville (ala Geoff Baker) to defend his work as a color commentator. Would be interesting to hear him try to justify the need for his voice.

As for PEDs and latino ballplayers I think that is a Pandora’s box MLB, the MLBPA and players do not want opened but I think the lock has been picked, the lid cracked and lots of names are getting ready to come out.

Jeff—I probably should have said “I don’t know if . . .” because I’ll admit that I don’t know enough about Matusz to make that judgment. Looking over his stats briefly suggests that he could be that guy. Of course, you could have said the same about Homer Bailey a couple of years ago too . . .

I’m a long-time Braves fan and I’m not as sanguine about their future as you are. I feel that, under the ownership of Liberty Media, they’re an organization that is sliding into mediocrity. It’s not happening quickly because there are enough holdovers from the past who are sort of keeping the ship on course but, as they retire or move on, they’re most likely to be replaced by less capable individuals. For example, are you excited about the prospect of Terry Pendleton as a manager after Bobby Cox? Or even Glen Hubbard for that matter? BTW, I’m willing to bet that Jeff Francoeur is playing RF for the Braves next year. His future is in the hands of the marketing department, not the baseball people. That was made clear when his demotion to the minors last season lasted only three games.

I hope you’re wrong about that Chuck (i.e. Pendelton and Francoeur). I’ll admit that I am dubious about Liberty’s ownership, but as long as there continues to be good young talent, I think there is hope.

That said, if Francoeur comes back next year, I’m going to have to seriously reconsider my position on this.